ITL Newsletter October - November 2021

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sent this bulletin at 10/25/2021 01:02 PM EDT

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Information Technology Lab (ITL) at NIST

October - November 2021 Newsletter

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Cybersecurity Awareness Month — celebrated every October — was created in 2004 as a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. NIST has partnered with other federal agencies to help raise awareness about cybersecurity and engage with public and private sector partners through events and initiatives to raise awareness about cybersecurity, provide them with tools and resources needed to stay safe online, and increase the resiliency of the nation in the event of a cyber incident. This year's themes include: Be Cyber Smart, Fight the Phish, Explore, Experience, Share, and Cybersecurity Smart. NIST is posting weekly blogs supporting these themes.

CULTIVATING TRUST IN IT AND METROLOGY

FEATURE STORIES

NIST Study on Kids' Passwords Shows Gap Between Knowledge of Password Best Practices and Behavior

When it comes to passwords, the challenges are endless. We must create multiple passwords to manage our many online accounts, from email to shopping sites and social media profiles. We have to safely keep track of these many passwords and ensure they’re strong enough to reduce the risk of cyberattacks. All of these reasons emphasize why education and training are so important for strengthening passwords and protecting personal accounts.

DHS, NIST Coordinate in Releasing Preliminary Cybersecurity Performance Goals for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems

Following up on President Biden’s July 28, 2021 National Security Memorandum on “Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) coordinated with NIST in developing preliminary cybersecurity performance goals that will drive adoption of effective practices and controls.

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

P. Jonathon Phillips

Electronics Engineer
Congratulations to Jonathon Phillips, who was honored with a Career Achievement Award from the Federal Identity Forum. Dr. Phillips is a world-renowned expert in computer vision, face recognition, and biometrics, and a pioneer in developing competitions to improve these technologies.

Ron Ross

NIST Fellow
Congratulations to Ron Ross, who received a Special Recognition Award from the American Bar Association's Section on Science and Technology Law for his enormous contribution made in the field of cybersecurity, particularly in the area of best practices and standards for cybersecurity and cyber risk management that are so critical to securing the internet and protecting national and economic security. Ron Ross was also awarded the 2021 Retired General Michael V. Hayden Lifetime Leadership Award for his distinguished contributions to the advancement and strength of the U.S. federal cybersecurity community.

Tony Kearsley

Mathematician
Congratulations to Tony Kearsley, recipient of 2021 Excellence in Research in Applied Mathematics Award. Tony was recognized for outstanding contributions in the application of mathematics with impact in a broad range of fields, including physics, chemistry, biotechnology, and engineering.

ITL IN THE NEWS

Advocacy Organizations Reshape AI Technology To Benefit People of Color | The Plug
Increased Network Visibility Decreases Cyber Risk for Federal Agencies | FedTech
China Isn’t the AI Juggernaut the West Fears | The Washington Post
Aligning Security and Privacy Using the NIST Risk Management Framework | Security Boulevard
Lawsuit Against Uber Reminds Everyone That Facial Recognition Has Never Been Race-Blind | Trill Magazine
Strengthening Firmware Security with Hardware RoT | Help Net Security
Biden to Convene 30-Nation Meeting to Combat Ransomware | Health IT Security
White House to Introduce ‘Zero Trust’ Cybersecurity Policy to Federal Agencies | JD Supra

PUBLICATIONS

NISTIR 8396 Open Media Forensics Challenge(OpenMFC) 2020-2021: Past, Present, and Future
NISTIR 8312 Four Principles of Explainable Artificial Intelligence
NISTIR 8392 Evaluating the Impact of Contactless Fingerprint Imagery Spatial Loss on Matcher Performance
NISTIR 8397 Guidelines on Minimum Standards forDeveloper Verification of Software
NISTIR 8360 Machine Learning for Access Control Policy Verification
NISTIR 8379 Summary Report for the Virtual Workshop Addressing Public Comment on NIST Cybersecurity for IoT Guidance
NISTIR 8259B IoT Non-Technical Supporting Capability Core Baseline

LOOKING AHEAD

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

On November 16^th, NIST will host a NICE Symposium: A Coordinated Approach to Supply Chain Risks.

On December 6^th-7^th, NIST will host 2021 NICE K12 Virtual Cybersecurity Education Conference. To register go here.

SUCCESS STORIES

Public Commenting Evolves Into Simplicity

Public comment periods are an integral part of the NIST standards and guidelines development process to produce effective, trusted, and broadly accepted publications. The SP 800-53 Controls Public Comment site has improved the quality of public commenting by making commenting accessible anytime, increasing user friendliness, and allowing users to preview planned changes. The SP 800-53 Release Search and Downloads provides the controls in additional data formats such as XML, CSV, OSCAL, and more. This new tool is a proof-of-concept that shows promise in furthering inclusivity in stakeholder engagement, increasing efficiency and transparency in the NIST public comment process, and innovating NIST’s process of developing, engaging, and disseminating technical guidelines.

NOTABLE QUOTES

"The end goal of this research [on kids' passwords] is to better support children and provide recommendations that can be used to provide guidance to them, parents and educators."

- Yee-Yin Choong, ITL Reseacher